Firemen are the real heroes. Or maybe teachers -- I can never remember. In any case, there will be lots of superheroes in town this weekend for Phoenix Comicon. Some of them will even be local musicians.
But if you're looking for a break from the convention -- or just another place to wear your super-accurate Doctor Who costume -- try any one of these five Phoenix shows to see this weekend.
Comikaze - May 25 - Monarch Theatre, Crescent Ballroom
Do you like local music? How about local musicians indulging their inner Comic Book Guy? If you answered yes to one or both of those questions, you might consider taking some time out from your Phoenix Comicon schedule to visit Comikaze, an all-day event split between the Monarch Theatre and Crescent Ballroom that will feature local bands like Fairy Bones, Captain Squeegee, decker., and Sara Robinson and the Midnight Special "[letting] their inner geek out" for Comicon attendees (and loiterers) looking for a break from the convention floor.
Read More: - Phoenix Comicon Schedule: Concerts in Costume and an Adventure Time Rave Await Music Fans
Admission is $5 for each show, or free with your Phoenix Comicon badge; the Monarch show, which starts at 3:30 and goes until 7:15, is all ages, but the Crescent leg of Comikaze is 21+.
Big K.R.I.T. - Club Red, Tempe - May 24
Mississippi native Big K.R.I.T. makes it cool to be country, and it's not just because of the Southern drawl in his voice or the leaned-back cadence splashed all over his discography. The 25-year-old has a flow strong enough to please purists and to place his work against the best in his discipline. For years, his free mixtapes garnered heaps of praise, and since the break of his studio debut Live From the Underground, the buzz surrounding him has been sweltering.
Read More: Big K.R.I.T. Keeps His Beats Homemade and His Rhymes Country
Almost all of K.R.I.T.'s work up to this point has been self-produced, and he's become one of the most versatile beatmakers to come out of his region. On one track he might create something that feels as though it could belong to Virginia's war-rap general Lex Luger's catalog, on another the production might sound like it could have found itself a home on UGK's seminal album Ridin' Dirty. But his main component is always the same -- "it's all about soul and quality." With Big K.R.I.T., it's not just the words he says and how they're put together, it's about everything from how the bass booms on a subwoofer to the very last bar. -- Patrick Montes
P.O.P. Convention - Trunk Space - May 25
The P.O.P. Convention is an exhibition of some of the best pop music Arizona has to offer. The highlight of the show is Phoenician pop Illuminatus Tom Filardo playing a set with a band of "AZ All Stars." Along with that, expect music that makes you feel joyful and young.
More importantly, expect Otter Pops. -- Mike Bogumill
This show forms part of this weekend's Unplanned, Unintentional, Unofficial Downtown Phoenix Indie Rock Fest, which doesn't actually exist but might as well. (You could make your own wristbands.)
Flights & Villa, Wooden Indian, Future Loves Past, St Ranger - Last Exit Live - May 25
If you played two Duran Duran songs at the same time and listened to them while staring at a picture of Carl Sagan you might be able to approximate Future Loves Past's "Mercury (Coils of the Snake With The Silver Tongue)", though I'm not sure it's worth all that effort to find out, seeing as it's on Bandcamp right now:
Future Loves Past makes danceable music for which no dances (or dancers) seem to have been invented, and I mean that as high praise. With Wooden Indian and St Ranger also on a stacked bill, Last Exit Live will be awash in big melodies and ambient, spacey harmonies. (Also high praise.)
Limp Bizkit - Marquee Theatre, Tempe - May 26
Ask him what he wishes someone had told him 30 years ago, when he began his music career, and Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst's answer might surprise you.
"To remain." Long pause. "Silent."
For a man who once was as much in the public eye for his controversial statements and bragged-about sexual dalliances, it's an unusual answer. But his band hasn't felt much love from the media over the years.
Limp Bizkit has always had timing to wrestle with, whether it's the '99 Woodstock riot, their much-derided album titles, or their ill-timed public statements. But now that they can look back on it, it's all part of what Limp Bizkit has always excelled at -- knowing how to create confrontational art and then marketing and selling it.
Read More: Limp Bizkit Features Controversy, Lil Wayne on Comeback Tour
So until the band members' next venture, album, or public disturbance, Limp Bizkit is on the road, touring the United States with a back-to-basics club-style setup. Guitarist Wes Borland says most of the shows have sold out already. "We were just waiting for the right time." -- Lauren Wise
